Eschatology, Messianism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Eschatology, Messianism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls

Excerpt

Eschatology, Messianism, and the Dead Sea Scrolls is the first volume to appear in the new series STUDIES IN THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS AND RELATED LITERATURE. The eight essays and related discussion were presented on September 30, 1995, at the first public Symposium of the Dead Sea Scrolls Institute at Trinity Western University (Langley, British Columbia). Keen public interest in these ancient documents was confirmed by the fact that nearly 400 people managed to find seats in a facility that normally accommodates 340! The keynote speaker was Professor John J. Collins whose paper, [The Expectation of the End in the Dead Sea Scrolls] (Chapter 5 in the volume), was well received by the audience and set the pace for the Symposium as a whole. The editors wish to thank the speakers, many other academic colleagues who were in attendance, the members of the audience, and the President and personnel of Trinity Western University for making the event an outstanding success. We are also grateful to Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., especially Mr. Jon Pott for supporting this new series, and Dr. Daniel C. Harlow for editing the volume and seeing it through the press. Besides offering some general observations on eschatology and messianism in the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament, this Introduction serves to introduce the essays in the volume, comment on the relationship between the Scrolls and Biblical Studies, and offer some insights on eschatology and messianism as evidenced by these ancient manuscripts.

A prominent feature of the Old Testament is the expectation of future events. In earlier times these tended to be imminent or within an historical framework: for instance, God's promise of a land and progeny to Abraham, or the hope of the exiles in Babylon to return to Judah. Over the centuries, however, it became increasingly clear that Israel (and later Judah) could not bring about the perfect kingdom of God. Even the greatest kings (David and Solomon) had serious flaws, and God's people were buffeted or ruled by a succession of foreign empires. Yet future expectation and the hope for a better world did not die . . .